74 courses with the subject COM, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
This course invites students to explore how design, storytelling, and media technologies have and continue to influence communication practices. Students will build media literacy, visual awareness, and practical communication skills that transfer across majors and careers.
Students explore the relationships between media and communication in public and private settings, including culture industries, social and civic institutions and professions. The course also examines how technology shapes media and communication practices and processes.
Topics will vary according to the semester in which the class is offered.
This course explores how fictional works of media (film, television, literature, etc) construct near-future and future worlds, and how in this construction those worlds engage with a critique of our current mediated environment. Students will analyze speculative works as both cultural critique and imaginative design and storytelling. We will draw from a range of media types, including films, limited run television series, short stories, and other artistic works. The goal is to not only appreciate these works but use them as a way to interrogate what they tell us about power, technology, and media.
We live in digital media, not with it. The question is no longer whether it's is good or bad for us, but how we make sense of our immersion in social media, streaming and constant connection. How does it impact who we are, who we have been and who we will become - as individuals and as a society? This course tackles myriad issues related to our digital lives, from addiction and attention to free speech and the "counterfeit self." By the end of the course, students will be able to: explain the role of media in their lives, recognize the way digital media shape their understanding of the world, and analyze moral and ethical dilemmas that arise in our digital lives.
This course is an introduction to the study of cinematic form and style, taking cinema to be located at the confluence of art, industry and technology. This course examines the cultural meanings of cinema as well as its aesthetic construction, including such elements as narrative structure, cinematography, design, editing and sound. Selections from historical and contemporary films will be viewed and analyzed.
This introductory-level creative course in the theory and practice of mediamaking exposes students to the unique storytelling capabilities of a range of digital media formats. Through a series of hands-on projects, students develop creative and critical thinking skills in topics related to self-awareness, identity, and society, as well as examine how communication technologies impact the relationships between audiences, producers, and content.
This course explores ethical issues in the field of communications. Themes include: privacy, civic media, citizen journalism, copyright, intellectual property, cyber bullying, net neutrality, social networking, global ethics, and digital divides. Students develop skills in applied ethical decision making, democratic dialogue, and civic participation through a range of projects in both online and community settings.
This course is an introduction to design within the discipline of communications. Framing design as a rhetorical process, student-designers create hands-on projects and make effective choices for their purpose, audience, and context. In the production of work, students consider ethical issues in design (such as accessibility, visual stereotypes, and cultural differences) and how design choices may shape emotions and contexts for others to experience. Students develop skill in visual communication, including typography, color, file organization, and layout for print and digital media using graphic design software. The course incorporates opportunities for student-centered learning, such as frequent work in small groups during class time and peer reviews of projects.
In this course, we focus on the methods, theories, and tools of field-based audiovisual production. Students will practice videography, and audio recording in both field- and studio-based environments, and will learn how to edit and revise content in the Adobe Creative Suite. Working throughout the semester on these production skills rooted in rhetorical principles of genre, audience and purpose, students will create a multimedia portfolio of work.
Do sports matter? An estimated 1.5 billion people watched the last World Cup Final on television. In an increasingly divided society, sports may be our last shared cultural narrative. This course explores the intersection of sports, media and concepts such as globalization, race, gender, nationalism, fandom and even fashion – in the past and present. Through a variety of articles, documentaries, book chapters, and podcasts, we will critically examine issues related to media and a variety of sports - from The Premier League to the NFL to the WNBA to the Olympics.
An introductory creative film production workshop that focuses upon visual storytelling, camera operation, digital editing and sound. Students will develop their personal creativity as they complete film projects in narrative and documentary modes. Students will also view relevant selections from historical and contemporary films.
An intensive workshop in writing for the screen, focusing primarily on the short form. Through the study of character and conflict, structure and setting, and rudimentary rehearsal and performance of draft scene-work, students will develop their own short pieces, culminating in a revised script and a visualized shooting plan ready to move into production.
Each student will first develop their own series concept, show bible, and pilot. Students will then work in groups to script episodes for selected shows.
This course is an intermediate-level collaborative workshop in producing the short film. There is a particular emphasis upon theoretical and technical lighting and camera operation, shot structure, and production design.
This course focuses upon the conventions, styles, makers, themes, and social commentary within such popular film genres as sci-fi, fantasy, thriller, horror, samurai, film noir, and Westerns. After conducting analytical studies, students will apply their knowledge to completing creative projects.
A hybrid course in the study and making of documentary film, students will explore the ethical issues of representation, identity, truth, argument, and advocacy through the examination of historically significant work, consideration of contemporary practice, and the execution of their own documentary project.
This course is designed to give students a comprehensive understanding of television in the United States. It will provide deep examinations of its origins, development, design, purpose of programming, and the variety of genres and their role in the formation of our ideas about history, nation, and cultures.
Providing an overview of significant works that exemplify film as visual media, this course is a survey of movements and makers that helped shape the evolution of screen narrative. Storytelling techniques and trends will be explored from early, spectacle-driven serial films through the postmodern, CGI-driven productions of today.
From films ignored at their inception to widely-regarded masterpieces to movies of unique personal and cultural influence, this course examines cinema through the unique lens of five films, providing a deep dive into the historical context, development & production, popular & critical reception, and influence & legacy of movies that have had a lasting impact.
A selected study of emerging cinematic movements and filmmakers from around the globe, that have pushed beyond the boundaries of established cinematic norms and innovated what film can be in its relation to culture and society. Possible areas of study include the cinemas of the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
This course will provide an analytical and critical examination of the films created by and starring influential Black American entertainers across film’s 100+ year history. Possible areas of study include the films of selected directors and performers, as well as Black American filmmaker movements.
Students explore narrative concepts and strategies as they uniquely apply to video games, including the player-protagonist relationship, linear vs. open-world plot structure, narrative experiential density, ludonarrative and emergent gameplay, and narrative written for the style of immersive simulations. Building upon lectures, quizzes and the in-class playing of video games, students complete written analytical assignments in application of these course concepts.
A workshop in creative and practical writing for video games, focusing both on independent and studio modes. Building upon the study of worldbuilding, character development, and systems design, students will work individually and collaboratively to develop their own video game stories.
Students explore the development of the video game medium from its origins to the present, with an emphasis on technology, aesthetics, industry, and cultural impact on society. Selections from historical and contemporary video games will be played and analyzed.
A critical and analytical examination of the work of selected filmmakers and movements that have had significant impact on the evolution of cinema. May be repeated for credit.
Protest Music explores the complex, evolving relationship among music, communication, media, and society. Through an analysis of songs, videos, performances, and associated mediums (like album artwork, zines, and concert posters) across a range of genres, subjects, and time periods, students will develop critical skills in media analysis, examining protest music not only as artistic expression but also as strategic communication. Lively discussions, revealing documentaries, insightful case studies, and times when we just have to crank up the volume on the turntable will show how protest music reflects, amplifies, and often shapes social movements, collective memory, human emotion, resistance, and social change. No music-playing or media-making experience required. All students are encouraged to register.
This course provides a foundational understanding of the core principles and application of strategic communication in various contexts. Through a blend of theory, practice and real-world exercises, students will craft, deliver, and evaluate effective strategies to align with client goals, values and target audiences. Examinations of messaging, media channels, and stakeholder engagement reveal issues in strategic communication including crisis, forecasting and brand reputation while integrating ethical considerations, technological acumen and cultural competence. Students are prepared to effectively articulate messaging that drives engagement, manages public perception, navigates integrated media landscapes, motivates masses, and accurately represents organizational goals and identity.
Topics will vary according to the semester in which the class is offered.
What kinds of stories do we tell ourselves about our relationship with new technologies? Are they good, bad, or neutral? In this course, we will examine the ways in which emerging and speculative technologies have been depicted in film, television, literature, and other mass media. We will explore utopian imaginings, dystopic visions, questions of humanness itself, and more through the lens of media theory and ethics. Through group screenings and discussions, students will develop a critical vocabulary and produce final video projects that remix course material in creative and critical ways.
The Association of Popular Culture has held an annual conference since 1971 and yet the subject area of Black Popular culture is relatively new. It seems, however, that W.E.B DuBois’ was writing about it as early as his 1897 essay “The Problem of Amusement.” We will begin our study there and trace the trajectory of the development of Black Popular culture in the United States in film, media, and fiction.
This course focuses on diverse texts and theories regarding adaptation and intertextuality as they impact media. Centering adaptation theory, this course will examine the surge in adaptations, with a particular focus on Black adaptations. The course explores the ways in which texts are adapted from one medium into other media and the ways in which texts intersect and communicate with one another.
What can you do with a degree in Communication and Media Studies? Do you know how to search for an internship or a job? And, are you ready to apply for a position should the opportunity arise? This professional development seminar will enhance students' knowledge about internships and careers within their major and help them build practical skills through a series of steps and events throughout the semester. This one-credit course meets once a week through the semester to provide practical instruction and skills in areas that include internship search and application, resume/cover letter prep, professional communication and networking/interviewing.
This course examines how media institutions, texts, and technologies construct, circulate, and challenge representation of race, gender, class, and other intersecting identities in the United States. Drawing on a variety of critical frameworks, students analyze how film, television, news, advertising, and digital media both reflect and reinforce broader systems of power, privilege, and inequality. Through case studies, the course explores how marginalized communities have represented, excluded, and have created counter-narratives that contest dominant ideologies. Emphasis is placed on developing critical media literacy and analytical skills to understand media’s role in shaping identity, citizenship, and social change.
Students will develop and write either a feature film script or a long-form series bible, pilot, and tv spec script. May be repeated for credit. May be taken as an Independent Study.
An advanced course in the study of the critical trends and theoretical positions that have influenced, enlightened and framed the creation and critique of cinema.
This course is a collaborative workshop in producing an episodic series. Students will rotate crew positions on each episode of the show, producing installments suitable for campus and/or public broadcast.
An advanced workshop in the practices and techniques of screen directing. Students will explore script breakdown, visualization and storyboarding, casting and working with actors, blocking and set-direction through the analysis, direction and production of class projects. Course may be taken as an Independent Study.
An advanced workshop in the skills of film sound recording, editing and mixing. This course examines the fundamentals of sound gear and technology, location and soundstage recording techniques, and the creation of film soundtracks, including dialogue editing, sound effects, automated dialogue replacement (ADR), music editing and mixing to picture.
This course is a workshop focusing on the production of narrative, documentary, and/or nonprofit advocacy modes. May be repeated for credit.
Multimedia journalism is a foundational course in audio-visual storytelling. The course will provide an overview of the language and theories of audio-visual communication, and introduce skills to produce news narratives for radio, television, and online news reporting. In this course students will learn the vocabulary of multimedia production and editing, use audio-visual production techniques to produce multimedia stories, and learn methods to critically evaluate audio-visual narratives.
This is an introductory course in photojournalism presented in a multimedia context. Students will be required to have access to either point-and-shoot cameras or (ideally) DSLR camera kits. The course will be taught as a hands-on workshop. Instruction will progress from basic camera operation and single image assignments to more comprehensive visual storytelling.
This hands-on, multimedia course covers all aspects of current sports journalism, from reporting and telling stories in print and broadcast media as well as in blogs, podcasts and social media. In addition to learning how to break news across multiple platforms, students will practice the kind of in-depth reporting and compelling storytelling that leads to profiles and full-length features. Students should have taken ENG 261 or have prior journalism experience before enrolling in this course
Media advocacy focuses on the strategic use of communication and media channels for the purpose of social change and to influence public policy initiatives, including issues related to health, criminal justice, climate change, and race. Students will explore how institutions and individuals past and present have employed media to improve their communities. Advocacy media differs from traditional mass media in that it strategically empowers communities and individuals to shape public debates on issues that impact them. Traditional mass media aim to fill the “knowledge gap,” while advocacy media fills the “power gap." Communication fee $115.
This course serves as an introduction to the theory and practice of web design. Students will learn about web technologies and standards while building accessible and usable web sites. Readings, videos, and discussions will focus on HTML and CSS code, the web’s architecture and it’s history, the complexities of site development, and current conversations about best practices (such as responsive design, emotional design, inclusive design, and access-first design). Students will apply best practices in web design while developing a rhetorical and technological understanding of coding as a form of communication. No prior coding or web design previous experience is necessary.
This course introduces students to the principles, methods, and practices of information design, with an emphasis on clarity, usability, equity, ethics, prototyping,, and re-design. Blending theory with practical and professional application, students consider the perceptual, cultural, and cognitive frameworks—the ways of seeing—that shape how people understand and act in response to information and visual communication.
Communications study tour students will study how digital media is used outside the context of the United States, and study the role it plays in other cultures. Through travel to another country students will be able to research and experience first hand differences in digital media practices. Destination varies depending on semester. As part of this course students will produce a digital media project that reflects both their in class research and study abroad experience.
The class will be a mixture of web design theory and practical front-end techniques. Students are expected to have experience hand-coding websites using HTML and CSS, a basic understanding of using Git, and be familiar with basic principles of design such as color and typography. Topics covered will include: usability, accessibility, Git, Javascript/jQuery, designing for content management, and using Wordpress as a CMS. By the end of this course, students should have a solid understanding of the web design industry and modern web design techniques.
This course focuses on the creation of narrative-driven sports content through audio and video production. Students will learn the techniques and processes involved in storytelling, including interviewing, capturing compelling footage, and editing to produce engaging narratives. Emphasizing both the technical and creative aspects of production, the course covers cinematography, sound design, and post-production workflows. Through hands-on projects, students will develop skills in producing sports content for digital platforms, gaining experience in creating impactful documentaries and feature pieces that showcase athletic stories and the cultural significance of sports.
Before there was digital media, there was analog--papyrus, printing presses, typewriters, radio, film, vinyl. Part history, part hands-on, this class will introduce students to analog media in ways that reveal their playful, physical, and tactile nature, how they became the social media of their times, transformed into our current media landscape, and are still inspiring creatives, designers, and communicators today. No media production experience necessary.
This advanced course focuses on the principles and methods of community-engaged scholarship with an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Students will design and execute a research or writing project addressing critical public issues in collaboration with community partners. In partnership with the John Cardinal Foley Program for Media and Civic Engagement, the course culminates in a publishable or presentable project showcasing innovative approaches to community-engaged research.
This course prepares students to lead digital media teams and manage projects with strategic focus in nonprofit, community-based, and professional contexts. Students will learn to create strategic plans that align media initiatives with organizational goals, assemble and manage diverse teams in inclusive environments, and apply project management principles to deliver impactful results. This course emphasizes collaborative leadership, inclusive content creation, and ethical decision-making while equipping students to tackle real-world challenges in digital media through hands-on projects.
Environmental Advocacy asks students to examine how individuals, organizations, governments, and nations use media and storytelling to address environmental inequity by working locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally to work toward a more sustainable present and future. Through nuanced readings, case studies, hands-on learning, and media making, students will experience the challenges and benefits of advocating for a healthier and more equitable natural environment. The course will also introduce students to Indigenous perspectives and frameworks, including Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). No prior media production experience necessary.
Not-for-profit and community-based organizations rely on strategic digital communication to drive social change. In this course, students gain in-depth knowledge of communication theories and practices while collaborating with local organizations through the John Cardinal Program for Media and Civic Engagement. Working as part of a project team, students will design and execute research-based communication strategies in partnership with nonprofit organizations to address real-world challenges.
This course examines how not-for-profit organizations use strategic digital communication to drive social change. Students will explore communication theories and apply social media strategies while conducting research projects with local organizations through the John Cardinal Program for Media and Civic Engagement. Active participation in project teams is required as students collaborate with partners in the Greater Philadelphia area and beyond.
This course explores how systems of oppression and inequity are designed—and can be redesigned. Students will examine equity-based design approaches that address power, privilege, and oppression, ensuring fair distribution of benefits and burdens, inclusive participation, and recognition of diverse design practices. Through methods like asset-based community building, mutuality, and co-creation, students will learn to cultivate equity and justice. By the course’s end, students will apply these methods to their own work and develop actionable strategies for equity by design.
In this experiential course, we combine the study of communication theory with mindfulness training. Mindfulness is about paying attention on purpose to what's happening in the present moment –without judgment. We will explore a range of research topics related to mindful communication, including attention, presence, deep listening, perspective taking, relational awareness, communication goals, conversational dynamics, and emotional intelligence. We will also examine real-world examples of mindful (and mindless) communication in relationships, school, public, and social media. With these skills, we can increase our ability to communicate effectively in each unique situation we encounter and modify unproductive communication habits.
Based on your cell phone history researchers can predict where you will be 24 hours from now. You can download and install software onto a computer to monitor and capture everything a user does. Nearly every thing you buy is recorded in a database. Corporations track every page view and click. Your email is easily read by third parties. Target knows when a customer is pregnant. Even the post office scans and digitally images every piece of mail it sends. It is impossible to not leave a digital trace, and all of these traces are being collected. In this class we will look at how our digital lives intersect with and effect our privacy. Is privacy dead in the age of constant surveillance? Should we even care? And who benefits from all this data collection? We will look to answer these question both on a technological level, what is possible, and a critical level, what does this mean for democracy and society. We will also seek to put this knowledge into practice, understanding and using what tools and techniques citizens can employ to regain privacy both in their lives as individuals and citizens.
In this course, students will learn to produce digital audio programming in the form of both podcasting and digital radio. Students will learn to use a range of tools, including consumer- and professional-grade equipment, as well as SJU's own multimedia podcasting studio and Radio 1851 studio. Students will write, produce, and broadcast their work for actual audiences.
In this course, students will develop a graphic design portfolio and deepen their knowledge of typography, color theory, the graphic design profession, and more. As a communications course, it emphasizes rhetorical dimensions of design, including purpose and audience. During the creative process, students will move through phases of research, planning, drafting, feedback, revision, and reflection-with an emphasis on sketching as a means of paying attention and gathering inspiration. Class projects may include branding materials, illustrations, posters, and magazine layouts for both print and digital formats. The primary goal of the course is to produce portfolio-quality work in graphic design and to build on skills and concepts covered in previous courses. Students should have at least a working knowledge of Adobe software products, including Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Qualified students may seek instructor approval
Linked by race, gender, and fate, but arguably little else, how do Black women content creators write themselves into the idea of America? This course examines, exclusively, Black women’s media creations to answer this question. Covering a wide array of approaches, students are positioned to effectively question notions of privilege and power driven by the intersectionalities of gender and race. Some background in Black history, culture, and/or literature is recommended, but not required.
This course will address the topic of health as it is enacted and defined within the discipline of communication studies. This course systematically explores and elaborates key concepts, principles, and underlying theories pertinent to public health communication campaigns and advocacy practices. Specifically, this course will provide students with conceptual and applied knowledge about communication interactions and its effects on health care, health practitioners, and patients. Topics include but are not limited to patient-provider interaction, social and cultural issues of health, mass media representations of health and healthy behaviors, and communication within health organizations.
This course explores the normative and functional roles of media in our contemporary political system. Journalism - the Fourth Estate - fulfills critical roles in a representative democracy, analyzing political issues, providing diverse perspectives about candidates and creating forums for public discussion, all of which enable citizens to make informed decisions about electing leaders. During the course we will track and analyze media coverage of ongoing elections, and research and write election stories.
For most of us the visual experience of war comes from images. We will likely never see war first-hand so photographs, movies, video games and graphic novels help shape our collective understanding and memory of armed conflict. This course will investigate images of war from the United States, Iran, Spain, Rwanda, both World Wars, the war in Vietnam and the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We will examine photographs, films and video games and discuss the dual purpose of war images - as pieces of art and as the documentation of an event.
At a time when the news media's role in society, its accepted practices and its storytelling tools and platforms are all undergoing radical transformations, adhering to ethical standards is more important than ever for veteran and aspiring journalists. This course examines and challenges those ethics, their significance in the public sphere and the principles and theories serving as their foundation. Students should have taken ENG 261 or have prior journalism experience before enrolling in this course
This summer program in South Africa offers students an opportunity to study through lived experiences - the culture, economics, and politics of pre- and post-apartheid South Africa. Students will accomplish this set of objectives by working as foreign correspondents, researching and writing multimedia narratives for The Hawk, Saint Joseph University's independent student-run newspaper. For the month in South Africa, students will report stories, go on field trips to historic sites, and interact with South Africans from all walks of life, in order to engage in thoughtful and meaningful discussions about issues of social justice.
Topics will vary according to the semester in which the class is offered.
This special topics course will explore a specialized area at the intersection of technology and rhetoric.
This course examines media narratives of crime and justice in the United States. We will analyze and discuss how these narratives impact incarceration, sentencing, policing and criminal justice policy. We will also consider how to produce new narratives, stories of redemption, through meetings and interviews with men and women who have or are serving life-without-parole sentences in Pennsylvania prisons, their families and advocacy groups lobbying for criminal justice reform. The course includes at least one group visit to a prison, accompanied by the instructor, to talk to men serving life sentences. Media production experience is helpful, but not required.
This required course provides department majors an opportunity to propose, plan, create and present a project to demonstrate what they have learned during their time at the university. The course focuses on an individual, semester-long creative and/or research project. The project scope and logistics will be negotiated between the student and instructor. The project is designed to serve as a transition from undergraduate to professional work and/or graduate school. The course includes a public presentation at the end of the semester.
Capstone/Portfolio Prep is a one-credit course designed to guide seniors as they plan for their Capstone projects and prepare a polished, professional portfolio of work. Students will clarify Capstone project ideas, refine proposals, and review models of successful Capstone work. By the end of the semester, they will have a clear plan for their senior Capstone and a curated portfolio ready for graduate school or job applications.
Students will study a topic in communications with a faculty mentor.
Directed independent reading and research with a faculty mentor. Open to senior Communication and Media Studies majors and minors and other senior students by permission of the Chair. Includes Honors Thesis.
Directed independent reading and research with a faculty mentor. Open to senior Communication and Media Studies majors and minors and other senior students by permission of the Chair. Includes Honors Thesis.
Source: Saint Joseph's University's catalog, linked per course · table learning_unit · CourseShelf publish 59
